Webb, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame's retiring executive director, has many good memories

BILL TIERNAN/STAFF FILE

Eddie Webb, who is retiring as the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame's executive director, stands in front of the Hall of Honor in the lobby of the Clark Nexsen building in Virginia Beach Town Center last February. The names of all the VSHOF inductees (more than 300) are on the wall.

Eddie Webb, who is retiring as the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame's executive director, stands in front of the Hall of Honor in the lobby of the Clark Nexsen building in Virginia Beach Town Center last February. The names of all the VSHOF inductees (more than 300) are on the wall. (BILL TIERNAN/STAFF FILE)

David HallStaff writer

The names roll off Eddie Webb’s tongue like a Who’s Who of Virginia sports.

Webb, who last week announced his retirement as executive director of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame after 24 years, remembers the inductees he’s gotten to know and has a tough time singling any of them out.

“It’s hard to say this guy was one of my favorites or this guy, because so many of them have been really good guys,” Webb said. “I think a lot of times, people don’t get an opportunity to meet them personally, so they only know what they see from TV or they only know what they read about. And these are just normal people that were blessed with doing something they really enjoyed, which happens to be what 90 percent of America’s hobby is, and that’s sports.”

A 65-year-old former college basketball coach from the Richmond area, Webb will be succeeded by Will Driscoll, the Hall’s sales and marketing director. Webb’s retirement is effective Friday.

Webb, the son of former Old Dominion coach Paul Webb, worked as an assistant to his father for seven seasons. He also worked at Randolph-Macon, his alma mater, as well as VCU and the University of Wyoming in a 25-year coaching career.

For 45 years, the father and son have run the Paul Webb Basketball Camp, the longest-running such camp in Virginia.

Eddie Webb, who lives in Virginia Beach, plans to use his extra time to focus more on the camp, stay active and visit a daughter who recently moved to Charlotte, N.C.

“I’m not the kind of guy that can just sit around,” he said. “I’ve got to have something to do.”

The Hall of Famers Webb has met over the years have only been one of his favorite parts of the job. He said he’s enjoyed working with the volunteer board members, and he appreciates the way Virginia Beach embraced the Hall’s move to the city from Portsmouth in 2017.

Virginia Beach is the state’s only city with a sports marketing department.

“They were responsible for close to 150,000 heads on pillows last year,” Webb said. “So that’s a pretty good commitment they’re making to bring people in here. We basically are on the same mission.”

The Hall of Fame announced last week that Webb was stepping down, but a technical glitch kept the press release from being widely distributed.

Driscoll, a Norfolk native, has been with the Hall since 2017. He was an integral part of planning and organizing the 2018 induction weekend, the first in Virginia Beach and the largest in the organization’s history.

“I am extremely excited for this opportunity to continue the mission of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame,” Driscoll said in a statement. “While we must continue honoring the past with our annual induction weekend events, I want to provide a platform that allows our inductees and supporters the opportunity to engage in our efforts 365 days a year.”

Webb said he’s confident in Driscoll’s leadership moving forward, adding that “the state of Virginia took a backseat to no state when it comes to producing great athletes.”

The time he spent with the Hall, Webb said, was time well spent.

“It’s been an honor and a lot of fun working with the people that I worked with for the past 24 years,” he said.

“It’s like any other job: It’s a good job if you enjoy the people you’re around. And I’ve been very blessed.”